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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Commonwealth v. Nieves, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)

Citation
Commonwealth v. Nieves, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)
Parent Document
Commonwealth v. Nieves, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
2019-05-15

Full Text

848 chars
First, statements that are admissible under standard evidentiary rules are presumptively reliable in a probation revocation hearing. See Commonwealth v. Patton, 458 Mass. 119, 132 (2010) ("Hearsay is presumptively reliable if admissible under standard evidentiary rules" [quotation and citation omitted] ). We conclude that the victim's statements were presumptively reliable hearsay evidence. The victim's statements fall squarely under the spontaneous utterance exception to the hearsay rule. See Mass. G. Evid. § 803(2) (2018). The evidence shows that her pleas to "please stop" and "get off of me" were not the product of "reflective thought." See id. Those statements were made before the victim was aware of the presence of police, and soon after the statements were made, police found her struggling and pinned by the defendant on the floor.